Did Tim Kaine’s words play a role in UC-Berkeley riot?

Just two days before violent protests against Milo Yiannopoulos broke out on the campus of UC-Berkeley, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine (D) called for Democrats to fight Trump in the street. The protests developed into riots in the streets causing property damage and injuring several bystanders,

“What we’ve got to do is fight in Congress, fight in the courts, fight in the streets, fight online, fight at the ballot box, and now there’s the momentum to be able to do this,” Kaine said on Morning Joe on Tuesday. “And we’re not afraid of the popular outcry, we’re energized by it, and that’s going to help us do our job and do it better.”

For many angry leftists who have no modes to fight against Trump, attacking Yiannopoulos and his supporters was the next best thing.

Obviously, Kaine was not an accomplice in the attacks that left several people injured, and one man knocked unconscious on the street. Yet, he must be held responsible for his reckless and incendiary comments that have created havoc in the national dialogue.

“Fight in the streets” is the kind of language that knocks down debate. It normalizes extremism and violence in the national discourse and psyche. Nothing exists in a vacuum and Kaine must be held accountable for his words.

Wrapping political debate into a physical altercation panders to the most extreme segments of society and only benefits people like Kaine who are up for re-election in two years.

Kaine should apologize to the nation and change his tone before someone is seriously hurt or killed.